Talk:Vladimir/@comment-98.226.71.229-20110822094929
I played Vlad religiously prior to his nerf (he was the first champ I ever felt I mastered), and still play him frequently. For me, the main difference in his playstyle is how the timing on his spell combo works. On the old Q cd, I could R>E>Q>W, and as soon as pool wore off, Q again before they could target me with a CC of some sort. Obviously this strat only worked if I knew where the team was and didn't need pool to escape. But it essentially meant I had enough damage output to drop most mid-lane carries down from close to full health, and have that damage go unanswered. With the way the timings are now, if I want to R>E>Q>W, they have some time after I come out of pool to CC me and escape/fight back, before Q is up again. That being said, I can still dominate a solo top lane or mid. Obviously, some champs are destined to dominate in a 1v1 scenario, but I can live with the fact that every once in a while I'm going to have a godmode Urgot to deal with. To be sure, Vlad's early game is pretty lackluster. But if I can break even or even just survive until level 6,7, or 9 (depending on my opponent)...I'm going to win after that, be able to push my lane, leave to help my teammates for a bit in their lanes, and absolutely dominate when team fights start. I'm more than happy to break even in laning phase against almost any opponent, just because I know that me unfed vs. them unfed gives my team the advantage in the long run. Vlad is still inherently strong in any stage of the game (except extremely early), is a huge boon to the total damage output of his team, and is still prime Quadra/Penta kill material. He is a walking gold mine when laning phase ends and farming becomes instantly killing entire waves of minions. Boots (as always) are situational, then it's usually rabadon's, rylai's, spirit visage, void staff, and a Will of the ancients. I love getting a stacked mejai's, but a good team will just focus you and kill your stacks. The most flexible item in the build is usually SV, and I'll switch it for whatever is the best at the time. I've used BV, FoN, Thorns, whatever the match calls for. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that Vlad is absolutely still a very strong, viable champ. It is a challenge to have a negative K/D on him, unless you are the enemy' sole focus...in which case they are picking the wrong target and are probably getting wiped for their decision. Finally, a tip for all those looking at playing Vlad...the difference between a bad, OK, good, great, and Godmode Vlad is knowing when to pool. In most cases, if you're using it offensively, you're doing it wrong. Pool is what makes Vlad loved and hated. It is what makes people scream "OP!" and ragequit after a failed tower dive. Use it, learn it, love it, and have fun.